San Diego police are spending $4.5 million to replace their outdated and unreliable dispatch system with a modern version that connects better to mobile computer terminals used by officers on patrol.

The City Council approved a contract for the new system this month with Intergraph Corporation, a company with 25 years of public safety experience that was forced to bid against a group of competitors.

Police Department officials say their 24-year-old dispatch system doesn’t meet industry standards, is prone to failure and is difficult to repair because of antiquated programming language.

They say Intergraph’s software, combined with new hardware the department added a few years ago, will improve efficiency and make San Diego police poised to embrace modern and future communications methods, including social media and multimedia.

The contract could cost $7.5 million total if city officials eventually choose to exercise four separate one-year options of roughly $800,000 each for expert help with the system, including an Intergraph advisor who would work at police stations.

Officials said switching over to the new system would take about two years, including configuration, testing and training. The council’s Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee is scheduled to get an update on the process in June.

The city has been exploring a new dispatch system since at least 2012. Last year, the city issued a request for proposals and reviewed multiple submissions on more than 30,000 technical and functional criteria before choosing Intergraph. The process also included oral interviews and site visits.

The new software provides a back-up system in case of failure and will stay up-to-date because Intergraph periodically issues software updates for its products.